Swimming paddle shoe



May 30, 1933. v G KOWTNA 1,911,828

SWIMMING PADDLE SHOE Filed May 10, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' & 16 16 \fl T1Ei-E Bi T.CLE.E 20

INVENTOR QJfowina BY 's ATTORNEY y 0, 1933. s. KOWTNA 1,911,828

SWIMMING PADDLE SHOE Filed May 10, 1932- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR q. Kowlrza,

BY H' ATT0RNEY9-MW Patented May 30, 1933 GEORGE KOWTNA, 015 NEW YORK, N. Y.

PATENT FICE? swIMi/rme PADDLE SHOE Application filed May 10,

The main object of this invention is the provision of a shoe equipped with paddles or flaps adapted to move reciprocally with the movement of the feet in swimming, so

that they offer a greater resistance to the water during a power movement of the foot and thereby enhance the power of the move ment, and offer a minimum of resistance during the opposite movement of the foot.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a shoe as above-mentioned which may at the same time be used like the ordinary shoe for walking, without the necessity of first removing the paddles or flaps. Thus a swimming auxiliary is provided intact with the shoe which eliminates the necessity of mounting the device before swimming and of detaching it for Walking.

Still another object of the invention is 0 the provision of a device as above-mentioned with means forming part of the shoe for pivotally supporting the flaps and with additional means forlimiting the movement of the flaps in a direction upward from the sole of the shoe.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for locking the flaps in inactive position so that the wearer may walk without interference from the flaps.

' The above and other objects will become apparent in the description below, in which characters of reference refer to like-named parts in the drawings.

Referring briefly to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a shoe constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of O the same.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the shoe showing the flaps in inactive lowered position when the shoe is used for walking.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational v. View illustrating the pivotal mounting of 1932. Serial Nb. s10,342 j the flaps and the means for limiting their upward movement. 1 1

Figure '6 is an illustrative view showing the shoe used in swimming.

Figure 7 is'an illustrative view showing the shoe used in walking.

Figure 8;is a plan view of the plate to which the paddle is attached, and Figure 9 is a side View of Figure 8. q

Referring inv detail to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a shoe having anapproximately rectangularly-shaped bottom or sole l1 and a high heel 12. A 'U-shaped band of rigid material, such as metal or leather reinforced with metal, passes around the instep of the 'sole' 11 and is attached thereto by suitable means. The arms 14: of the band 13 extend partway up the sides of the shoe and terminate in hinge ears l5.- A substantially" triangularly-shaped bracket 5 of rigid material such as metal or the like 16 has a rearwardly-projecting tongue 17 out of both sides of which a hinge pin 18 projects. The tongue 17 registersbetween the ears 15 and the pin 18 passes through both of said ears, the plate 16 being thus rotatable on the said ears. The central portion of the arm 14 between the ears 15 continues upward in the extension 19 and its upper'extremity is bent at-rightangles to form a. check 20.

-The flap 21, of substantially triangular outline with one side curvedas shown, isattached by'suitable means on the plate 16 and its rear edge, when in raised position, fits between the check 20 and the ears 15, the formerserving as a check to limit the upward position of theflap to that shown in Figures 3 and 2. It is thus apparent that the flaps 21 may rotateffromthe latter position to a position (shown in. Figure 4) in which a they are turned downand lie against the lowerportion of the shoe body. The rearside of each flap 21 is provided with a hemispherical indentation 22 near its outer end. A resilient finger 23 is mounted by screws or the like 24 on each side of the rear portion of the heel 12, and extends downward and outward at an angle. A ball 25 is integral with the free end of this finger, and is adapted to register in the indentation 22 when the flap is in lowered position, as shown in Figure 4. The flaps are thereby releasably locked in their foldeddown position when the shoes are used for walking. When about to go into the water to swim, after walking in the shoes, the finger 23 vis withdrawn from contact with the flap, thus withdrawing the ball 25 from the indentation 22 and releasing the flaps 21 so that the latter become free to rotate about their hinges. The fingers23 may then be rotated slightly downward about screws'24 so that the ends of these fingers will not be struck by the flaps while the latter are reciprocating during swimming.

When swimming the operation of the flaps isas follows: Assuming that they are in the position shown in Figure 4 when starting, and the foot is pushed back in the water, the flaps will be forced by resistance of the water into raised position, shown in Figure 3, Thereafter, further pressure against the water will cause the flat area of the flaps. to exert a strong resistance, so that the swimmer will be propelled forward a substantial distance. On drawing the foot ture. v

. GEORGE KOWTNA.

up preparatory to the next power stroke,

theflaps will be forced down again into the position shown in Figure 4. I Obviously, modifications in form and structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Iclaim: V

'L A device of the class described comprising a shoe, a U-s'haped band surrounding the instep of the shoe and having arms extending part way up the sides of the shoe, fiaps pivotallymounted on said arms, said flaps being adapted to fold down against the sides of the shoe, the axis of said pivotal mounting of each of said flaps sloping upward from the forward to the rearward end of the shoe to form an acute angle with the sole thereof, each of said flaps having a recess in the rear edge near the outer extremity thereof, a resilient finger secured at one .end to the heel of the shoe and having its free end enlarged, said enlarged end being adapted to enter said recesses and be releasably retained therein by said finger to lock said flap in folded-down position, said flaps being also adapted to extend at substantially right angles from the shoe, and means for limiting the upward rotation of said flaps to-said last-named position.

a 2. A device of theclass described comprising a shoe, a flap pivotally mounted onthe side of said shoe at a position intermediate theheight of the shoe,-the axis of said piv- 

